The young man started at this information.
He had never known just the extent of his father’s estate.
He had been at the North in different schools during the last eight years, and previous to that he never had felt interested enough in the property to ask any information about the boundaries of Vue de l’Eau.
Colonel Mapleson, in speaking of the Dales, had said they lived not far from that place; but now it appeared that his estate included the little vine-clad cottage, the old mill, and other buildings in that vicinity.
Did the furniture of that little house also belong to him, or had he simply let it remain there after the mysterious disappearance of Annie Dale, thinking, perhaps that some time she might return to the home she had so strangely left? Or had the writer of that letter, a portion of which he had found, had something to do with the rich garnishings of that cozy home?
The mystery seemed to be thickening, rather than being explained.
“I have been at home so little that I have had no opportunity to learn much about the estate,” Everet remarked, in reply to Miss Southern’s look of astonishment. “But do you know how old this girl was when her mother died?”
“Annie was in her eighteenth year. Poor child! She seemed to be entirely alone in the world then, and came here, to Richmond, to try to earn her living. She made me a call, while looking about for a situation, and I pitied her from the bottom of my heart,” said the old lady, with a sigh.
“Where did she make her home while searching for a place?” Everet inquired.
“With her old nurse—a free colored woman, who was very fond of her. Mauma Gregory was her name. I begged her to come to me, and would have been glad of her company, for her mother and I were great friends during our youth; but she feared to hurt her nurse’s feelings, while she hoped to obtain a situation in a few days, and thought it best not to change her address.”